Monday, August 29, 2005

Venezuela's radicalized middle managers

I just finished books on Afghanistan (things are looking
up) and Pakistan (things are looking bleak). Maybe
I'll pick up a volume on Venezuela next. Hugh Chavez's
country is clearly the most interesting nation in the
hemisphere.

Chavez
is calling for the United States to extradite Pat Robertson
to face Venezuela justice for calling for the assassination
of Chavez. I don't think Robertson committed a crime,
therefore he shouldn't be arrested. Robertson didn't even
threaten Chavez directly -- he just noted that the United
States should act on its capacity to kill Chavez. That said,
Tony Blair has come to just the opposite conclusion. If a
radical Muslim cleric was advocating the assassination of a
Western leader, Blair would seek to extradite the Cleric. I
do see a distinction -- no one at the 700 Club has blown up
a double decker bus lately. Of course, that can't be the
standard, can it? Can we really judge Robertson differently
because he's claims to be a Christian rather than a
Muslim?

We were joined by a Belgian Futurist, who
lived under the, I think, assumed name of Jean de Brissac la
Motte, and claimed the right to bear arms in any battle
anywhere against the lower classes.

The forces opposed to Chavez claim that the August 2004
elections were rigged and are demanding a new National
Elections Council. I'm sure all the right wingers here
will be happy to pitch in a good natured "get over it" to
our friends from the south. Meanwhile, here's one of the
things that Chavez is doing with the surplus
of oil revenue that has the opposition fuming:

[In November, 2004], the new managing director of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), Rodrigo Rato, urged oil
producing countries like Venezuela not to spend their extra
income from high international prices - but to save it.

The government here has decided to do just the opposite. The world's fifth largest oil exporter - and a principal supplier to the US - is pouring money into literacy, health and other social programmes.

Of course, Venezuela goes to Cuba for help teaching its
citizens to read. Venezuela claims to have taught 1,000,000
citizens to read which would put their literacy rate (93%
according to a 2003
estimate) roughly on par with the ours (97% in 1979).